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Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

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Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#61

Post by rguzman »

WJW wrote: post #14

> Apart from network effect, and Google's Ad Monopoly This is like asking "why don't we live on the moon except that there is no atmosphere there and it's pretty far away?". Those two reasons are the main reasons Youtube is the clear winner in its field, saying "apart from that" does not make a lot of sense. If you'd want to start a competitor to take on Youtube, you either need to focus on a tiny niche not well serv…

this is all accurate and i'd add that it is deceivingly hard to make something that sustains itself via advertising. when youtube was acquired google had a large part of that already figured out.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#62

Post by PeterisP »

betwixthewires wrote: post #39
mgamache wrote: post #15

Network effect, and Google's Ad Monopoly account for 99.9% of the dominance of YouTube. Only Facebook could launch a competing product (maybe Twitter). It would take millions (or Billions) to build a platform just to end up like one of the many competitors (Vimeo). There will be something that kills YouTube, but it will look different (or work differently).

Is it really network effect though? I think with regard to YouTube the influence of network effect is overstated. The easy monetization capability is unrivaled, this is a big reason people that make videos choose YouTube. This is where their network effects come from. People don't really choose where to watch videos, people choose where to upload them though. But as far as a viewer is concerned, do you care what vide…

I'd argue that Youtube is a strong video discovery mechanism and "People don't really choose where to watch videos" is very much false. Many people watch videos by directly searching for them on youtube and by subscribing to specific "youtubers" (perhaps it's different between various ages/demographics, though); and, IMHO this is the largest part, when watching the next video people stay on the same site, at least in the case of youtube; they'll just pick one of the recommendations and it's not going to be on another site.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#64

Post by wruza »

sli wrote: post #23
formerly_proven wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with media platforms that market themselves as pro-free-speech is that they attract alt-right content - and their hyper-toxic followers - like a warm pile of shit attracts flies, even if that's not the intent of the platform operators.

A lot (but not all) of YouTube's problems would go away if they 1) used the actual DMCA and not their own system that allows for things that would be illegal under the DMCA and 2) stopped being retaliatory (latest example, deleting comments from creators critical of the dislike count removal). But they have a huge hegemony, so there's no incentive whatsoever for those two things to happen.

I bet they also know a lot of problems we are not even aware of, because these were fixed in trade offs they’ve made. Content id claims may even be beneficial to US-based creators because even if false, it’s still a [manageable] alarm before a real lawsuit, which creators couldn’t stand against anyway. They have a hegemony no doubt, but why wouldn’t another platform have it in the same position and under same legal circumstances. Investors be like “ah yes, it’s not youtube, so we’ll refrain from pursuing our goals and safety policies”?

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#65

Post by iancmceachern »

It's interesting that many content producers are starting to create their own websites, complete with ad free and extended content. I predict YouTube will become like Pandora was. Used for discovery but when folks want to deep dive on a specific content producer you go to their site or content portal directly.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#66

Post by wastedhours »

What use-case of YouTube would you want a competitor to though? Personal video hosting? Independent creator video distribution? Social network for video? Music video streaming?

One of the greatest achievements of YouTube is basically serving countless audiences and numerous use-cases under the guise of a single service.

You'd need to roll-up WhatsApp video sharing, Vimeo, Facebook Watch/Tik Tok/IG Reels, MTV, and then throw the aspirational element of creator payments over the top of it. I'd question whether anyone would actually want to do all of that.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#67

Post by HamburgerEmoji »

All a competitor needs to do for me to prefer them is not be part of the Ministry of Truth, i.e., to not set itself up as the arbiter of whether information is correct. It should know its role: to store and play videos and such. Odysee, Rumble, Bitchute, Gab TV, NewTube, all of these fit the bill. All of these are very valuable in an era when censorship has been normalized.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#68

Post by 2Gkashmiri »

mattl wrote: post #32
2Gkashmiri wrote: post #3

for me personally Peertube checks all the boxes because it is in the fediverse and can be selfhosted. you can do whatever the hell you want and that is quite a big thing for people who have been burned by youtube. edit: Tilvids.com is a good example of the power of peertube

How does the experience compare for the average user? I’ve put things on Peertube only for the instance to shut down.

tilvids.com check it and give your opinion

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#69

Post by [deleted] »

1cvmask wrote: post #2

There is a new "free speech" alternative called Rumble emerging. Rumble for now promises Not to become a censorship platform like YouTube is now currently. https://rumble.com/ Even though some high profile civil libertarian and free speech advocates like Glenn Greenwald and Zaid Jilani have chosen Rumble as home, YouTube is still lights years ahead. But if they continue to censor, alternative free speech platform wil…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't YouTube have a competitor?

#70

Post by fullstop »

new_guy wrote: post #8

Rumble Odysee WTV Bitchute Daily Motion Peer Tube ..ad infinitum There's literally hundreds out there, not everything needs to be 'Facebook scale' to be successful. edit: formatting

None of those are available on "modern" TVs or set top boxes. YouTube is _everywhere_ and has monetization, the eyeballs, and a seemingly infinite number of videos. It will be extraordinarily difficult to compete with this.

Literally over a billion smart phones are sold each year, most of which have YouTube apps on them already. At the moment nothing can reasonably compete with YouTube. They can, of course, be successful but will remain a niche product.

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